Vintage Buying FAQ's
1. I can buy this at [my local thrift store] for cheaper. Why are your prices so expensive?
Please do! We want everyone shopping second-hand! Our prices are higher than other thrift stores because we've taken the time to research, verify product legitimacy, curate collections, deep clean and restore, tell the product story, pack and ship each product. We specialize in helping make second-hand products accessible to people who don't have time or don't enjoy the treasure hunt.
Here's an average example of profits made from a product;
We recently purchased a pyrex bowl for $12.99
Product cost: $12.99
Cleaning supplies: $0.70
Portion of software monthly fees (Shopify, Xero, Etsy, Canva, ect): $110 / 50 = $2.20
Etsy posting fees and cut: $7.90
Portion of shipping supplies: $90/50 $1.80
Sold for $32 - $25.59 = $6.41 profit
Time spent sourcing, photographing, writing product stories, packing and shipping was about 1.5 hours. We do this out of love of vintage and hopefully leaving a small positive impact on the environment. For us, this is a passion project, not a get-rich-quick scheme.
2. Reselling takes away quality products from people who need it. Why do you resell?
When most people think of reselling, they think of people who mass buy, and "flip" products for a premium. Often using technology like bots to buy concert tickets or a hyped up sneaker drop. We believe this is a legitimate and reasonable concern.
But what motivated us to start our store was the fact that there was a TON of high quality products sitting on the shelves of our local thrift store for weeks on end, not moving. After 2 weeks, the for-profit company would send the items to the landfill.
Many of the products we pick are less desirable because they need deep cleaning or restoring, or people simple can't picture the item on the messy thrift shop self styled in their own home. Sadly, in the area that we live the supply largely out numbers the demand for second-hand and vintage and we're only putting a small (through hopefully meaningful) dent in the problem.
3. What is your view on using AI?
As a small, start-up business we have made the decision to use AI but sparingly and thoughtfully. Some AI tools empower us to expedite processes we wouldn't otherwise have the resources to do, for example, we use photoshops built in background removal feature.
Across all aspects of our business we are intentional with what tools we choose, and choose tools like Viro AI, which funds clean energy through in-chat ads and Ecosia which plants trees for every browser search.
4. Isn't shipping products across the country unsustainable?
We offer local pick up, but also ship with a carbon neutral supplier throughout North America. We chose to offer shipping because when compared to buying new, the carbon footprint of shipping within North America still greatly outweighs the footprint of manufacturing a new product, oversees shipping of those products and it's eventual end of life.
For example; Buying a brass figurine secondhand is environmentally favorable over new in almost every respect.
The biggest savings come from avoiding new production. Brass is a copper-zinc alloy, and copper mining is energy- and water-intensive, generates large volumes of tailings and acid mine drainage, and carries a high embodied carbon footprint. Casting a figurine adds more energy for melting (brass melts around 900–940°C), plus finishing, plating, and polishing steps that can involve solvents and chemical baths. A secondhand piece has already "paid" all these costs, so reuse spreads that footprint across a longer lifespan rather than triggering a fresh round of extraction and smelting.
Secondhand also reduces packaging and shipping impact when the item is bought locally or already in-country, versus new goods typically manufactured overseas and freighted long distances. And it keeps a durable object out of the waste stream. Brass is highly recyclable, but recycling still consumes energy and recovery is never complete, so direct reuse sits above recycling on the waste hierarchy.